Company: Safelite AutoGlass
Company Description: Safelite AutoGlass is the U.S.A.'s leading provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year - Other Service Industries

Nomination Title: Kanyon Hillaire, Technician

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since the beginning of July 2013 (up to 650 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Safelite AutoGlass is the largest vehicle glass repair and replacement specialist in the United States, and stresses the importance of customer service to its employees. This includes training its 5,000 technicians to communicate with customers about what to expect before, during and after an appointment.

Kanyon Hillaire, an auto glass technician at Safelite AutoGlass’s Portland, Oregon market for five years, embodies the company’s philosophy to delight customers and create a memorable experience.

In October 2013, Kanyon learned that one of his mobile customers was deaf. He knew that communicating during a job is crucial. Customers must understand how long the repair or replacement will take, when it’s safe to drive the car, and what they can expect during the appointment.

So, Kanyon contacted a friend who knew American Sign Language and asked her to record a message for the customer on his smartphone.

“I could have written everything thing down for my customer,” Kanyon explained. “But, have you ever seen someone after you speak to them in their native language? If not, try it some time. Just learn a little bit and that person becomes more relaxed and they feel more comfortable. For me, customer service is more than doing a good job. Customer service is allowing that person to feel comfortable and safe. Then they can trust me when I am working on their vehicle.”

Safelite’s leadership team was so impressed with Kanyon’s innovation, they developed American Sign Language and Spanish-language videos about installation and repair processes. Technicians can access these videos through Safelite Smartphones.

Kanyon’s efforts embodied all Safelite’s core competencies:

1. Live Our Values – Showing respect and focusing on his customer.
2. Think People First – He was genuinely caring.
3. Have a Passion for Customer Delight – Finding ways to improve an existing level of service.
4. Understand the Business – Kanyon knows he’s the face of Safelite when he services customers – this caused him to act.
5. Be Innovative – Leveraging technology and a personal relationship to delight his customer.
6. Drive for Extraordinary Results – He loves a challenge and was resourceful.

Additionally his action is a perfect example of how Safelite strives to be customer driven. By paying attention to customer needs, we can create solutions for them, thereby creating a memorable customer experience. This is just one small thing we can do to make working with Safelite easy for our customers.

In fact, Safelite went on to produce a video about Kanyon’s story, which was also edited down to a sixty-second television and digital commercial.

Kanyon’s story is popular on Social Media with a positive reaction from a blog site, “Gregory’s List,” in which the blogger wrote about his reaction to the TV ad: “The other day I came upon something completely unexpected that brought me to tears. It felt that for the first time in a long time I wasn't being pushed, shoved and bamboozled to feel a particular way. It came from a very unusual place – an auto glass company. The honest to goodness humanity on display in this is breathtaking. Low budget as it may be – from an effectiveness perspective – I would place my bet on it versus any others I've seen recently. Its unlikely theme will do more to educate people about this company and its people than any other marketing tool.

Kanyon is truly a role model for front-line customer service professionals.

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